Day of Anger, on Dispatch from the Razor's Edge

Freedom for the Egyptian People

Protest Today(?) at Embassy in London!

As you might or might not have read (*), first-of-their-kind anti-government (i.e. anti-Mubarak, anti-tyranny, and anti-corruption) protests have rocked Egypt. As many at 15,000 people gathered yesterday in al-Tahrir Square in Cairo – with tens of thousands more in Alexandria, Suez, and elsewhere. Here's a minute of excellent video for you, to put you in the picture:

As you also might or might not know, the state of Egypt – like the rest of the Middle East outside of Israel and Iraq – is an autocracy. Ruled by dictator Hosni Mubarak for 30 years, Egypt has been under "Emergency Law" since 1967: This law extends police powers, suspends constitutional rights, and legalizes censorship. Street demonstrations and non-approved political organizations are formally banned. Some 17,000 people have been detained under the law, with estimates of total political prisoners as high as 30,000. (From Wikipedia.)

Word on the street is that there will be a demo outside the Egyptian Embassy in London (Mayfair), today – from 3pm to 6pm. I'll definitely be swinging by (leaving, oh, now). Ring me up if you're keen. (Beer may also be involved.)

Alternate words on the street have there being a demo this Saturday at noon, which might be more of a goer. I'll post again if there's confirmation of that.

Could this be the beginning of freedom for the Egyptians? Stay tuned to find out.

While this blog by no means supports the Muslim Brotherhood – which has historically been the only real political opposition to the Egyptian regime – it is also not terribly keen on the U.S. government's execrable support for said regime in the name of stability, anti-terrorism, and non-aggression against Israel. (Though of course we salute and honour Anwar Sadat's heroic and historic peace-making with Israel, which he paid for with his life.)

But if you know anything about the Egyptian regime and their treatment (read: imprisonment and torture) of their opponents, you won't be very keen on it. And if you know anything about the history of al-Qaeda and Egyptian Islamic Jihad – which you will if you've read The Looming Tower – you'll know that a-Q #2 Ayman al-Zawihiri was radicalised in Egyptian prisons. If the Egyptian government is one of our allies in the war against terror, one can very nearly sympathize with our enemies.

In this case, the enemy of our enemy is – or certainly really should be – our enemy as well.

Freedom for Egypt.

Update, 6pm: Just got back from the demo (see comments). And the TweetSphere is going crazy:

And this has got to be my favourite protest photo:

If there are more than a couple of baddasses like this in the ranks of protestors, Mubarak stands no chance…

freedom middle east politics egypt protests

Dispatch from the Razor's Edge is owned and operated by novelist, technologist, vegan, exercise junkie, classical liberal, rambler, and Londoner Michael Stephen Fuchs.

Fuchs is the author of the novels The Manuscript and Pandora's Sisters, both published worldwide by Macmillan in hardback, paperback and all e-book formats (and in translation); the D-Boys series of high-tech, high-concept, spec-ops military adventure novels – D-Boys, Counter-Assault, and Close Quarters Battle (coming in 2016); and is co-author, with Glynn James, of the bestselling Arisen series of special-operations military ZA novels. The second nicest thing anyone has ever said about his work was: "Fuchs seems to operate on the narrative principle of 'when in doubt put in a firefight'." (Kirkus Reviews, more here.)

Fuchs was born in New York; schooled in Virginia (UVa); and later emigrated to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he lived through the dot-com boom. Subsequently he decamped for an extended period of tramping before finally rocking up in London, where he now makes his home. He does a lot of travel blogging, most recently of some very long walks around the British Isles. He's been writing and developing for the web since 1994 and shows no particularly hopeful signs of stopping.

You can reach him on .

Most recent

Most read

Most commented

By tag

Related

Dispatch from the Razor's Edge is owned and operated by novelist, technologist, vegan, exercise junkie, classical liberal, rambler, and Londoner Michael Stephen Fuchs.


2023 >> 2022 >> 2021 >> 2020 >> 2019 >> 2018 >> 2017 >> 2016 >> 2015 >> 2014 >> 2013 >> 2012 >> 2011-12-20 2011-12-19 2011-12-16 2011-12-10 2011-12-04 2011-11-13 2011-11-11 2011-10-21 2011-10-20 2011-10-17 2011-10-13 2011-10-06 2011-10-05 2011-10-03 2011-09-30 2011-09-29 2011-09-11 2011-09-06 2011-08-10 2011-08-09 2011-08-08 2011-06-07 2011-05-19 2011-05-08 2011-05-06 2011-05-02 2011-04-28 2011-04-27 2011-04-26 2011-04-16 2011-04-15 2011-04-13 2011-03-23 2011-03-21 2011-03-18 2011-03-17 2011-03-16 2011-03-15 2011-03-11 2011-03-09 2011-03-04 2011-03-01 2011-02-17 2011-02-14 2011-02-12 2011-02-11 2011-02-10 2011-02-07 2011-02-06 2011-02-04 2011-02-03 2011-02-01 2011-01-31 2011-01-29 2011-01-28 2011-01-27 2011-01-26 2011-01-21 2011-01-20 2011-01-12 2011-01-11 2011-01-10 2011-01-08 2011-01-07 2011-01-06 2011-01-05 2010 >> 2009 >> 2008 >> 2007 >> 2006 >> 2005 >> 2004 >> 2003 >> 2002 >>	Day of Anger Freedom for the Egyptian People Protest Today(?) at Embassy in London! As you might or might not have read *(), first-of-their-kind anti-government (i.e. anti-Mubarak, anti-tyranny, and anti-corruption) protests have rocked Egypt. As many at 15,000 people gathered yesterday in al-Tahrir Square in Cairo – with tens of thousands more in Alexandria, Suez, and elsewhere. Here's a minute of excellent video for you, to put you in the picture: As you also might or might not know, the state of Egypt – like the rest of the Middle East outside of Israel and Iraq – is an autocracy. Ruled by dictator Hosni Mubarak for 30 years, Egypt has been under "Emergency Law" since 1967: This law extends police powers, suspends constitutional rights, and legalizes censorship. Street demonstrations and non-approved political organizations are formally banned. Some 17,000 people have been detained under the law, with estimates of total political prisoners as high as 30,000. (From Wikipedia.) Word on the street is that there will be a demo outside the Egyptian Embassy in London (Mayfair), today – from 3pm to 6pm*. I'll definitely be swinging by (leaving, oh, now). Ring me up if you're keen. (Beer may also be involved.) Alternate words on the street have there being a demo this Saturday at noon, which might be more of a goer. I'll post again if there's confirmation of that. Could this be the beginning of freedom for the Egyptians? Stay tuned to find out. While this blog by no means supports the Muslim Brotherhood – which has historically been the only real political opposition to the Egyptian regime – it is also not terribly keen on the U.S. government's execrable support for said regime in the name of stability, anti-terrorism, and non-aggression against Israel. (Though of course we salute and honour Anwar Sadat's heroic and historic peace-making with Israel, which he paid for with his life.) But if you know anything about the Egyptian regime and their treatment (read: imprisonment and torture) of their opponents, you won't be very keen on it. And if you know anything about the history of al-Qaeda and Egyptian Islamic Jihad – which you will if you've read The Looming Tower* – you'll know that a-Q #2 Ayman al-Zawihiri was radicalised in Egyptian prisons. If the Egyptian government is one of our allies in the war against terror, one can very nearly sympathize with our enemies. In this case, the enemy of our enemy is – or certainly really should be – our enemy as well. Freedom for Egypt. Update, 6pm: Just got back from the demo (see comments). And the TweetSphere is going crazy: And this has got to be my favourite protest photo: If there are more than a couple of baddasses like this in the ranks of protestors, Mubarak stands no chance… Depending on whether you make it to page 26 of the paper, which is where it was in today's London Times. (hide) Tweet freedom middle east politics egypt protests ← before \| 5 comments ↓ \| after →